Line Judge the one to flag in Churchill allowance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Line Judge blew through the race’s condition quite a while back, so he’s more than qualified for the Friday feature at Churchill Downs. Trainer Peter Miller only hopes the 5-year-old horse runs like he did in his last start here.

“He was really good that day,” Miller said earlier this week from his Southern California base, referring to a 3 1/4-length victory in the Kelly’s Landing on closing weekend of the Churchill spring meet. “He’s a really nice horse that tries hard. He’s rock-solid at this level.”

Line Judge, with Corey Lanerie back to ride, will face six other older horses in the seventh of 10 Friday races. Line Judge is entered in the seven-furlong race for an optional $80,000 claiming tag, one of several eligibility stipulations in what’s essentially a three-other-than allowance with a $102,000 purse.

Miller, on behalf of Ken Shaw and Tom Kagele, claimed Line Judge for $62,500 at the spring meet, marking the fourth time the Kentucky-bred son of Spring at Last has been claimed in a 27-race career that has produced 12 wins and nearly $500,000 in earnings. Line Judge paid for that investment right away by winning the $120,000 Kelly’s Landing, after which he was assimilated into Miller’s main string at Del Mar, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby in July, then third as the favorite in the Harry Brubaker in August.

Since then, the horse has returned to Churchill in the care of assistant Felipe Souza, who has been overseeing nearly 30 Miller runners since April and will be here through the fall meet, which ends Dec. 1. Enticed in large part by the big purses being offered in Kentucky, Miller said he intends to follow a similar routine in the coming years.

Line Judge is one of two in the feature who could be claimed – and the other, Pete’s Play Call, could be his toughest opponent. Trained by Robertino Diodoro, the 6-year-old gelding was a last-out winner of a second-level allowance at Saratoga under David Cohen, who has a return call. As a Maryland-bred, Pete’s Play Call is ineligible for the $32,400 in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund bonuses that make up a good chunk of the purse.

One later allowance, a $97,000 first-level route (race 9), also is part of a Friday card that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern. More dry weather is in the forecast, with high temperatures in the mid-80s.